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Chinese rush to stock up on food as government’s warning prompts confusion, brief panic-buying
- State media tries to reassure public that there are plentiful supplies of basic goods
- ‘It’s going to be a cold winter’, shopper says while loading up her rice, oil and other essential items
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Beijing shoppers stocked up on cabbage, rice and flour for the winter on Wednesday, after the government urged people to keep stores of basic goods in case of emergencies, though it assured them that there were sufficient supplies after some panic-buying.
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China’s Ministry of Commerce published a seasonal notice on Monday encouraging authorities to do a good job in ensuring food supplies and stable prices ahead of winter, following a recent spike in the prices of vegetables and a growing outbreak of Covid-19.
But the ministry’s advice to households to stock up on daily necessities in case of emergencies prompted significant confusion, sending some rushing to supermarkets to purchase extra supplies of cooking oil and rice.
China’s instructions also pushed up domestic edible oil futures, as well as Malaysian palm oil.
It’s going to be a cold winter; we want to make sure we have enough to eat
“It’s going to be a cold winter; we want to make sure we have enough to eat,” said one woman loading rice onto a bicycle outside a supermarket in central Beijing.
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